While I put on my boots, she disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a rag, which she used to blindfold Mr. Jarsdel as a precaution. I put the hat and veil on him to make the blindfold look less obvious, and when we were done, we guided what looked like a strangely shaped woman outside.
The night air was cool, soothing, and freeing after the long day in our stuffy rooms. The streets were slick and shiny from an evening rain. We walked briskly to find a busier road, but I didn’t quite have the same fears of thieves and cutthroats leaping out of dark alleys as I used to. Not when I had an actual murderer on my arm to worry about. Within a few minutes, a hansom picked us up, the driver barely giving Mr. Jarsdel a second glance. I gave him the Lowndes Square address, squeezed into the tight space meant for two, and we were on our way.
“Do you know which house it is?” Miss Chen asked.
“Not exactly,” I said. “But I know the square well enough. We’ll be able to see everything from the garden in the center.”
“And where are you planning to attack him?”
“It depends. Captain Goode’s Constable ceremony was tonight. If he’s not home yet, we’ll have to wait for him to return and Mr. Jarsdel can catch him as he gets out of his carriage. If he is home, I think Mr. Jarsdel will have to meet with him in the drawing room. Either way, Mr. Jarsdel, can you think of a matter that would be too urgent to wait for the morning?”
“Information about you or Mr. Braddock,” Mr. Jarsdel said.
“Perfect,” I said. “And you wouldn’t be lying.”
“Yes, not lying is the most important part,” Miss Chen quipped. “So once he’s blinded, how long until his sight returns?”
“Two minutes to see outlines,” Mr. Jarsdel said. “Five minutes to see fully.”
“Ah, then here’s the most important question,” Miss Chen said. “Who gets to do the honors?”
“That also depends,” I said. “I am fairly certain if Captain Goode has bodyguards, they will be in the room and be affected by Mr. Jarsdel, too. In which case, Mr. Jarsdel would have no trouble killing him. But if a bodyguard happens to close their eyes or look away for some reason, we need to be ready to assist. In which case, you do the honors.”
Miss Chen scrutinized me as passing gaslight hit my face. “Maybe you should take the gun. I feel guilty about taking that from you.”
I shook my head. “It’ll be satisfying enough to have planned this. As long as you don’t miss.”
“I won’t,” Miss Chen said. “But you should at least kick him once or twice.”
“Of course,” I said. I cleared my throat. “And uh—thank you for coming. I know you wanted to leave London and get away from Captain Goode. And now we’re heading straight to him.”
“I like simple plans,” she said with a shrug. “Less places where they can go wrong.”
We spent the rest of the ride in silence. I watched the city go by, watched as we crossed the Thames and passed Victoria Station. My heart weighed a little heavier, my breath came a little faster as we passed my parents’ home.
I knocked on the roof before we got too close. The hansom came to a stop a street east of Lowndes Square. Miss Chen paid the driver while I pulled Mr. Jarsdel out and led him to the sidewalk. As the cab trundled away, I removed my hat and veil from Mr. Jarsdel and untied his blindfold. The three of us continued onward through the dark, empty street.
We entered Lowndes Square at Number 50, where Miss Chen broke apart the gate to the communal garden in the center of the square. Using the bushes for cover, we crept down to 37 and watched it through the fence. It should have been an obvious blight on the neighborhood, looming over the street, horrifying the square with its dark inhabitants. Instead, it was tucked in among the neat little row of elegant houses that all shared a likeness with the ones in Belgrave Square. And Captain Goode’s residence looked like a simpler version of my home.
I hated it.
We stared for a long moment at the white stucco. Wind began to ruffle the hem of my night rail and the hair at the nape of my neck.
“Shall we?” Miss Chen’s voice cracked through the silence, as sure and capable as a well-swung whip. She did not look nervous, just determined.
“I suppose we should.” I eyed the house, wondering if he was in there, sleeping peacefully. “Mr. Jarsdel, are you ready?”
“I am.”
I removed his traveling coat and put it on myself. His body had completely healed during our trip. Miss Chen knelt down and eyed his hand restraints. One by one, his fingers were loosened and then his hands were apart, his flame power free and strong. I took a deep breath, trusting in Rose’s power. Miss Chen stayed kneeling behind him, one hand by her boot. He stood up, nodded, and didn’t burn us to death.
Miss Chen turned her attention to the fence in front of us, breaking apart a small hole for Mr. Jarsdel. As the metal cracked and fell to pieces, a loud clacking came from down the road. A carriage. It turned toward us and slowed to a stop in front of 37 Lowndes. A footman emerged from the shadows and opened the door for Captain Goode to step out. Dressed in uniform, he looked striking and far too proud of himself.
“Good timing,” Miss Chen whispered.
Mr. Jarsdel left the garden and crossed the street as Captain Goode started to make his way to the front door. “Captain Goode,” he called. “A moment! I have something urgent!”
As much as I wanted to watch, I shut my eyes and waited for the flash of light. I counted to five. To ten. Nothing came.
“Captain, what’s happened?” Mr. Jarsdel shouted.
My eyes opened to find the street empty, save for Mr. Jarsdel. The carriage, the horses, the driver, the footman, and Captain Goode had all vanished.
“That … was an illusion,” Miss Chen said in disbelief. “Dammit, this is a trap, we have to—”
She was interrupted by a loud rumble and a massive blast of water that struck us from behind. The force propelled us through the hole in the garden fence and onto the street. I coughed out the water and tried to climb to my feet, but there was a sizzle behind me and then a searing pain that sent my body into convulsions. Thrashing and crawling away did nothing except earn me more horrible shocks. The weight of the attacker pinned me down, and then they seized my neck, lifted me up, and spoke in a sweet voice.
“I wonder if I eat your skin, will it grow back?”
The girl from the prison. The cannibal. Her hair was bright white as if moonlight was hidden in her locks, and her hand around my throat seemed to buzz with energy. She toyed with me like the dead frog in an electric current experiment.
Mr. Jarsdel was on the ground, eyes open, unable to move, two more familiar faces standing over him. A gaunt, frail man, another one we’d questioned in the prison, the one who nonchalantly talked about the murders he’d enjoyed committing. And a bearded man with a whip of water encircling him. The former bodyguard. Captain Goode had released the whole blasted prison.
I looked to Miss Chen for help, but she had problems of her own. A tall blond man had her in his hold with a knife to her throat. “Fei, so lovely to see you again.”
She elbowed him in the gut. “You too, Pratt.”
He kicked her legs from behind, bringing her to her knees. “I say, no need for that, my dear. I can put in a good word for you.”
The door to 37 Lowndes Square slammed, and Captain Goode marched to us with Miss Fahlstrom by his side.
“Miss Wyndham, I see you received my invitation,” Captain Goode said, seizing my arm. His gaze was severe and stern, the welcoming, fatherly side of him gone. “Do you really think Mr. Jarsdel’s knowledge of my address was a mistake?”
My rage rose along with my power. “What are you doing?”
He pulled his left arm out of his pocket to reveal a new hand growing back and taking shape. He’d been hiding it since the ball. “I wanted my hand back.”
I felt a chill as my power was suddenly cut off when he was done. It was all a trap. He knew we’d go after Mr. Jarsdel and question him again. How stupid could I bloody—
“Ah!” a yelp came from behind me.
Miss Chen had her gun aimed at Mr. Pratt’s head now. “You hurt her, you lose your illusionist.”